An Undistinguished Look at... Road Cycling Landon Boyd March 27, 2009
The World of Cycling Commuting Touring Recumbents Messengers Randonneurs Alley Cats Goldsprints Cyclocross Bike Polo Road Racing Fixed Gear Freestyle Triathlon Duathlon BMX Freestyle BMX Trials Human Powered Vehicles Mountain Downhill Jumping Artistic Cycling XC etc...
Why Ride? Exercise + Fresh air + Speed + Scenery = GOOD SENSATIONS!
Why Watch? A harder question to answer.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bx2f9Ze3CA Let's try to put it in context.
The Peloton Flock of geese: ● ~30% of effort = wind resistance ● Changes shape with conditions Wolf pack: ● Team leader kept out of the wind ● Lower ranking riders set the pace ● “Domestiques” fetch the water ● “Directeur Sportif” barks orders from the car
A domestique takes one for the team...
“The Break” ● A few riders break away from the peloton ● Tense alliances form ● When it works, you get a “paceline”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5CfRsmtQ44 ● Cooperation can break down close to finish ● Stage 5 of the 2008 Tdf: 8 minute lead, swallowed by the peloton in the last km. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdQ1ifV3MC0
Types of Racers Climbers Sprinters “The Chicken” Thor
Tour de France ● Est. 1903 ● 3 weeks in July ● 19 stages – flat, mountain, time trial ● Avg road stage, ~170km ● Here's a stage of this year's Tour:
Tour de France ... and here's the next day: ● The race is won and lost going up hill ● Downhill looks like more fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kZSzB4kEE8
Paris-Roubaix “The Hell of the North” ● Est. 1896 (!) ● 1 Day “Classic” race ● mid-April ● 260 km ● ~50 km over cobbled roads (pavé) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpwNq5TYBug
Paris-Roubaix If you finish, you get to have a shower...
Big Names: Jacques Anquetil Won 5 Tours (1957, 1961-1964) Bizarre Personal Life: ● Seduced and married his Dr.'s wife ● Had child with 18 y.o. stepdaughter ● ... and another with stepson's ex-wife ● Book: “Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape”
Big Names: Eddy Merckx “The Cannibal” Won: ● TdF 5 times between '69 and '74 ● Paris-Roubaix 3 times ● World Champion 3 times ● Giro D'Italia 5 times ● Milano-Sanremo 7 times Held the “hour record” for many years Retired from the bike business this year.
Big Names of the 80's Bernard Hinault Greg LeMond “The Badger” 5 time TdF champ Won by 8 seconds in 1989
Lance Armstrong 1993: won the world championship as a brash youngster 1996: cancer in testes, lung, abdomen, brain 1999-2005: won 7 straight Tours 2005: retired ● Formerly married to Cheryl Crow ● Other gf's: Ashley Olson (?!), Kate Hudson ● Twitter addict 2009: he's baaack...
David Zabriskie One of the more... interesting... characters in today's peloton. Has his own brand of chamois cream (“DZ Nuts”).
Canadians Can Ride! Steve Bauer ● Won a stage of the Tour in 1988 ● Wore the yellow jersey for 5 days in '88, 9 days in '90 ● 1990 Paris-Roubaix: second by 1 cm!!! ● Silver in 1984 Olympic road race Svein Tuft ● Second in 2008 World Time Trial (despite a flat tire)
Doping The dark side of pro cycling. :( Tour de France shenanigans: 2006: Floyd Landis wins, then stripped of title 2007: Leader “Chicken” Rasmussen thrown out 2008: Riccardo “The Cobra” Ricco thrown out etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.....
Technology Not that much different from 100 years ago. One big invention in 1940s: derailleur ● Rules keep the bikes from getting too radical. ● Biggest difference is materials. ● Weight of current pro bike: 6.8 kg
Technology: what's the difference?
Technology: what's the difference? ● 324 g ● 209 g ● $125 ● $630 115 g = $505
Want to Build Your Own Bike? You can do it! Google “Bike Kitchen”
FIN.
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